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Las Vegas Lights first professional team to partner with marijuana dispensary

New United Soccer League club Las Vegas Lights is now the first professional sports team in the United States to partner with a marijuana dispensary, signing a deal with NuWu Cannabis, a Las Vegas dispensary, according to the team’s social media account.

“We love Las Vegas, and we’re not embarrassed to support any business here,” Las Vegas Lights Chief Operating Officer Brett Lashbrook said. “This is the right time and the right market to do this, and we’re not going to hide. We think this will be part of the destigmatization of this substance and business.”

Advertising marijuana to children is illegal and it remains unclear how the Lights will manage and reconcile its new relationship with a marijuana outlet.

Recreational marijuana was legalized in Nevada in July 2017. However, although now legal to consume marijuana for fun, it’s generally illegal to smoke or ingest the drug in dispensaries, bars, restaurants, city parks and public streets. Hotels and landlords usually ban people from using the drug on their property, as well.

The Lights play their home games at Cashman Field, near Downtown Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) turned over the adjacent Cashman Center convention and meeting facility to the city of Las Vegas last year for redevelopment, but still operates the stadium and parking lots.